Written By: Olivia P. Pearson
North Carolina farmers help feed the world by producing a bounty of nutritious foods. To do this, they rely upon essential partnerships with urban and suburban communities to supply, sell and deliver finished products to consumers across the U.S. and around the globe.
Rural and urban communities working together have built our nation’s rich agricultural resources so that they contribute to the health and well-being of our country and to the strength of our economy.
During National Farm-City Week, we recognize the importance of this cooperative network. Agriculture employs more than 2 million workers, including farmers and ranchers, shippers, processors, marketers, retailers, truck drivers, inspectors and others who contribute an annual impact over 424.9 billion to North Carolina’s economy.
As they perform their daily work, farmers and ranchers preserve freshwater recharge areas, wildlife habitat, and greenspace.
Consumers help farm families maintain their superior natural resource conservation practices by purchasing North Carolina agricultural products.
Farm-City Week activities celebrate the mutually beneficial relationships that support the quality of life we all enjoy.
Our friends at Farm Bureau had a list of great ideas to help connect the farm to city!
- Farmers Markets: Local farmer’s markets provide a great opportunity to highlight the necessary relationships between farmers and city folk. Set up a booth and make a day of it with hand-outs, fun kid-friendly games and tasting demos.
- Farm-City Week Breakfast: Host a Farm-City Week breakfast for local government and business leaders. Identify a keynote speaker to talk about the beneficial rural and urban partnerships in agriculture. Plan your menu around local commodities.
- Pizza Commodity Party: Organize a “pizza commodity party” on a farm or in a classroom. Explain how ingredients from kids’ favorite food come from farms and ranches and how each is processed and delivered to the grocery store or restaurant, emphasizing the relationships that make our abundant food supply possible
- Day on the Farm: Host a classroom field trip to a local farm or ranch or to a university’s agricultural research farm. This is a great opportunity for children to learn where their food comes from.
- School Lunches: Work with local schools and the school lunch program to have agricultural displays set up to help explain the connection between farm and mealtime.
- Library Display: Work with your local library to feature a Farm-City Week display or other displays throughout the year! Choose books on animals, food, and farms to encourage children to learn about agriculture!
- School Garden: Start a school garden at an area school that doesn’t have one. Start teaching kids about where their food comes from and the importance of agriculture.
- Restaurant Night: Go to a restaurant that purchases from local farms and put a Farm-City Week flyer or placemats on the tables.